Stacking drum



Nov. 30, 1937. v A. E. .JESSER 2,100,483

STACKING DRUM Filed March 5, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 NNNNNN OR A. E. JESSER STACKING DRUM Nov. 30, 193 7.

' Filed March 5, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Nov. 30, 1937 UNITED STATES 2,1oa4s3 STAOKING DRUM Albert E. Jesser, Apollo, Pa. Application March 5, 1932, Serial No. 596,907

10 Claims.

My invention relates to means for facilitating the storage and shipment of metal containers and, in particular, steel drums having a rolled edge or flanged at each end, such as are now in general use. Steel shipping drums as at present constructed comprise a cylindrical shellgenerally ribbed circumferentially for rigidity and closed by circular ends having a rolled joint with the cylindrical portion. The chime formed by this joint is circular, of course, and rounded so that it is impossible to stack the drums one direct upon the other for purposes of storage and shipment, since drums so stacked are relatively unstable and easily displaceable. To overcome this condition,

it has heretofore been the practice to lay wooden strips on top of a series or course of drums'before stacking a second series or course thereon. 0n unloading a shipment or removing drums from storage, the wooden strips are thrown away. The

cost of the strips and the inconvenience resulting from the use thereof have always been objectionable in the shipping and storage of material in drums. The stability effected by the use of the wooden strips, furthermore, is not very great since adjacent stacks are not interlocked.

, I have invented means for permitting steel drums to be stacked safely one on the other for shipment or storage and also means for tying together adjacent stacks of drums to interlockthem and prevent swaying or falling. In accordance with the invention, I provide a supporting clip adapted to be placed on the top chime of a drum. The clip has downturned flanges for engaging the chime of the bottom drum, and upturned flanges for receiving the bottom chime of a drum placed on the first mentioned drum. The means 7 for tying adjacent stacks together comprises a spacer formed of folded sheet metal and slotted properly to receive the chimes of drums stacked one on the other to space the stacks apart and secure them together. By spacing the stacks apart, any marring of the labels secured to the drums or the paint thereon is prevented, thus avoiding the unsightly appearance which frequently characterizes drums when shipped by the present methods; Both the clip and the spacer are inexpensive so that they may be used and discarded. They may, of course, be preserved and reused, however, if desired.

For a complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings ilustrating a present preferred embodiment thereof. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a plurality of drums having the stack spacer applied thereto for positioning the stacks relative to each other;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a V I slightly different method of stowing the drums; i

Figure 3 is a partial side elevation of adjacent T stacks of-drums showing the application of, the spacer thereto; j a Figure 4 is a partial view to enlarged. scale showing the stack spacer in position similar'to that of Figures 1 and 2; j Figure 5 is a sectional view along the line V'V of Figure 4 showingthe stack spacer in side elevaticn;

Figure 6 is a sectional view along the line VI-VI of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a perspective view of, the stack spacerf a Figure 8 is a partialside elevation showing the application of the flanged supporting clip engaging simultaneously the chimes ore supported and a supporting drum; 7 V t Figure 9is a partial plan view of a drum head showing the clip in position onthe flange there Figure 10 is a sectional view on the line X- -X of Figure 8; and

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the supporting clip.

Referring indetail to the drawings and, for

the moment, to Figure 7, it will be observedthat the stack spacer indicated generally by the numeral I!) comprisesa piece ofsheet metal of suitable length and width folded up into, a cross section similar to that of the letter z with th tip and tail extended into engagement with the inclinedpor-e tion. The ends of thepiece cf'rnetal are slottedat H so that after the bending operation, the slots form recesses or grooves for receiving the flanges on the heads of steel drums; The finished spacer may be described as a hollow'square tube with a diagonal longitudinal web, the tube being recessed at both ends on both sides of the web. a

l3 from which flanges M are struck.up adjacent the middle of the clip. At the ends of the clip, flanges I5 are struck downwardly. The finished clip maybe considered as a metallic channel hav ing portions of its flanges extending in both directions from the web thereof.

7 Steel drumsof the usual type comprise a cylindrical side wall l6 (Fig. 5) and a circular head I I having a rolled joint IS with the side wall which forms the chime or flange at ends of the Referring now to Figure 11,}the stackingclip v indicated by the numeral l2 has a plane portionand staggered rows;

drum. Frequently, steel shipping drums are ribbed circumferentially as at l9 to provide resistance to radial crushing forces.

Figure 1 shows the application of the stack spacer to a plurality of drums arranged in horizontal columns and rows. As the bottom layer of drums is built up, spacers Ii] are applied to the top flanges thereof in a manner which will be obvious from Figures 4 and 5. Clips I2 are then placed on the top flanges of the drums of the bottom layer in the manner shown in Figures 8 through 10. The second layer of drums may then be placed on the first layer. The notches in the spacers I0 and the upturned flanges of the clip l2 receive the bottom flange or chime of the drums in the second layer. The number of clips and spacers employed will vary, of course, according to conditions. In Figure l, since'the corner drum 2%! has two spacers l0. resting thereon, a single clip i2 will usually be sufficient to hold a second drumv thereabove, although two or more may-be used if desired. The drum 2! having three spacers I!) may not require anyclips 12, but one or more may be used as an extra precaution. The spacers 10, of course, function not only to brace adjacent stacks but also to hold one drum on the other; the same as clips 12-.

Figure 2 shows the disposition of the spacers when the drums are placed'iin. straight columns The manner of using the spacers under these conditions will be obvious without further description.

It will be apparent that theuse of the spacers and clips herein disclosed makes it possible to :build up a stable stack of drums and, at the same time, to tie together a number of adjacent stacks so as to increase the rigidity and resistancetocollapse of the entire number. The clips tendto prevent damage to the drum chimes since the latter are not in engagement throughout their circumference but only at the points where clip-s .or spacers are-applied. The spacers prevent rubbing of drums in adjacent stacks and prevent *marring'of: paint or labels'on'the drums. The clips and spacers can be made at relatively small cost and may,'therefore,.be thrown away when they have been used, although their life is not- -limited to a single use if it is-desired to use-them repeatedly. 1

' While the invention has been described herein as applied to drums having a rolled flange at both ends, it, may be adapted, with a slight change, for usein stacking drums having a removable flat cover, such as the ordinary lard. or cracker tins. These containers generally have a rolled flange only at the bottom. It would be possible to flatten one of the upwardly projecting flanges of the clip l2 and invert the clip so thatthe remaining, flange would engage the flange of the cover of a supporting tin. The upwardly .(normally downwardly) projecting. flanges of the clip could receive the rolled flange of a drum in a second layer.. Similarly, the spacer l0 could be. modifled by dividing it along a plane at one side of thegcentral diagonal web for use on tins having flanged removable lids.

changes may be made in the invention as disclosed, without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A clip for supporting one drum upon another comprising a metallic strip having flanges struck downwardly and upwardly therefrom on both sides for engaging the ends of the supporting and supported drums internally and externally.

21A stackspacer comprising a tubular member slotted at an angle to its axis to receive the flanges of drums in adjacent stacks.

3. A- spacer for securing together adjacent stacks of drums placed one on the other, comprising a'tubular tie member having slots adjacent itsends for receiving the flanges of drums in adjacent stacks.

4. A spacer foradjacent stacks of drums comprising a tubular tie member having cut-away portions forengaging the flanges of drums in adjacent stacks.

5. A stack spacer comprising a hollow tubular metallic member having its ends partially slotted transversely. r V

6. A stack spacer comprising a hollow tubular metal member substantially rectangular in crosssection having. its ends slotted transversely.

'7. A stack spacer comprising a tubular member of substantially rectangular cross section having, a diagonal. web extending longitudinally thereof, andtransverse slots in said member adjacent its ends.

8. A stack spacer, comprising a metallic member having a cross section similar to that of the letter Z with its tip and tail extended to the inclined portion, the corners of said member being slotted transversely adjacentits ends.

9. A device of the character set forth, comprising a fastener having downwardly facing grooves for receiving the chimes of barrels standing side by side, and upwardly facing grooves for receiving the chimes of other barrels stacked chime and chime on said first named barrels.

16. A device for supporting a drum, having a rolled lower edge, on a drum having a similar upper edge, comprising an integral sheet metal member having a length which is small'relative to the circumference of said-edges, said member being provided with a horizontal, substantially central, plane portion, and portions bent upwardly and downwardly from both sides of said central plane portion for engaging the rolled edges of said drums internally and externally.

.. ALBERT E. JESSER. 

